I received a book today that was cancelled because the sender did not mark it mailed in time.  The wrapper was printed 10/1 and the transaction was cancelled by PBS 10/7 (I assume because it didn't get marked mailed in time)  The book was postmarked 10/10.  Since it was cancelled, I requested another one.  Now I get the 1st one in the mail and will end up with 2 copies--and I only want 1! 

What do I do?  I read the Help guide and it says that I don't have to mark it received from a cancelled request.  What would you do?

I would not mark it received since that person didn't follow the rules....I mean, they even mailed it 3 days after it was cancelled, so it's not like they shouldn't have known that, or at least PM'd you to say it was mailed so you wouldn't order another one! You would be following the guidelines by NOT giving that first person a credit.

Cheryl

If I had the credit I'd mark it received.   You do not have to, that's correct, so you aren't doing anything wrong"if you don't.  I figure, though, that we all have bad days and who knows why this person didn't get it marked mailed.  Maybe they were just lazy, sure, but maybe they really just forgot and life issues kept them from seeing the "reminder" emails.  I know a friend of mine lost her computer for a few days quite suddenly.  She was able to get to a library computer and let some of us know, but not everyone has that option. 

So, if I had the credit, yes, I'd mark it received.  One thing I would not do is buy credits in order to mark it received...I'd just wait until I had one again.

You would be following the guidelines by NOT giving that first person a credit.

I really think that's overstating just a bit.  It doesn't say that we SHOULDN'T Mark the book received.  It says we don't HAVE to.  I mean, the HC goes on to tell you how you CAN give credit to the first sender if you want to, so I don't think giving the credit is going against the guidelines.  It is simply left to each member to decide and make sure that Member A isn't "punished" (by being charged 2 credits) for Member B's mistake. 

Also, just as a reminder, post marks can be deceiving.  If it was metered, that's one thing, but if it's a stamped post mark, that can happen anywhere at anytime.

read one and put the other on your bookshelf. I had an incident where that happened to me and I got two sets of books, I still have one set that I haven't read yet and the other set was on my bookshelf and two of them were requested. I did buddy the credits because I thought it was an honest mistake.

This was metered...the sticker postage that you buy at the post office.  I'm not trying to be difficult or mean.  From my point-of-view, if I mark it received, I will have used 2 credits for the same book.  If I put it on my bookshelf, I will get the credit back but I have to pay to have it mailed.  Also, there are currently 87 copies of this book available.  It's annoying to be in this position to begin with. 

If you haven't unwrapped the book, you can mark it "Return to Sender" and send it back..........

 I'm not trying to be difficult or mean

I don't think anyone thinks that, Melanie. You are in an uncomfortable position and trying to decide what to do.  Nothing wrong with that.  You did ask  what we'd do, though, and there's more than one answer to that question.

My *personal* perspective is that Member A is out the book, the postage and the credit.  If I got the book, and it's in postable condition, then I'm going to even things up.  Of course, I'm probably going to send them a PM gently reminding them that I really did not have to send that credit and why.  Also, I'll share  the importance of remembering to mark books mailed, cause the next person would be well within their rights to not mark it.

As everyone (even me, lol) has said, though, the guidelines do not require you to mark it recieved and it's NOT wrong if you choose not to!

If you haven't unwrapped the book, you can mark it "Return to Sender" and send it back..........

Sorry, I'm not trying to be a pain here, but that WOULD be mean.  Then they'd have to pay to get the book back, too! 

I will respectfully disagree with Beth.

I would not mark the book received that was mailed after the transaction was cancelled.  I would email the sender and explain the situation - politely - in an attempt to prevent future mistakes/misunderstandings.

I don't think you should be out 2 credits for one book, and I don't think you should have to assume the cost of sending it back either.  You can certainly offer the sender the option of getting the book back if the sender wants to reimburse you the postage, but I don't think you even need to offer.

The sender broke the rules - even if inadvertently - and now is out a credit.  That is not your fault, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.

I got a book that was listed as lost after attemps to contact the person failed. Then I finally got it after my credit was given back to me. It was post marked 3 weeks after they marked it mailed. I didn't know what to do so I went to my transaction archive and marked it mailed and then lost my credit. I kinda wish I hadn't done it since they got credit for a book they didn't mail on time but then again I did get the book so I guess I did the right thing. Not sure if I would do it again, though.